Hawker Beechcraft Expects Hawker 400XPR Popularity to Mirror 400-Series Success in South American Market

SÃO PAULO, Brazil (Aug. 15, 2012) – Hawker Beechcraft said today at the Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (LABACE) in São Paulo that it expects high demand for the new Hawker 400XPR upgrade in the South American market based on the popularity of its predecessors, the Beechjet 400A and Hawker 400XP aircraft.

Already, South America has the second largest number of 400-series aircraft outside of the United States with approximately 60 aircraft. Hawker Beechcraft Global Customer Support (GCS) has strong relationships with these operators, having been in the region for decades maintaining the fleet and enabling the consistently reliable transportation to which Hawker/Beechjet 400 owners are accustomed.

“Our experience supporting the global fleet was factored into the design of the Hawker 400XPR and is a key element that distinguishes us from the competition,” says Christi Tannahill, Hawker Beechcraft senior vice president, Global Customer Support. “The performance of the new Hawker 400XPR, especially from hot and high airports often found in South America, is unparalleled. Operators in South America will enjoy faster climbs to altitude, greater non-stop range, and much better environmentally friendly mission profiles.”

Hawker Beechcraft offers customized XPR upgrade packages for existing Hawker/Beechjet 400 owners as well as XPR factory completed aircraft for those who do not currently own an aircraft. Both the XPR upgrade and factory-completed aircraft include performance, cost and reliability enhancements that are available only through Hawker Beechcraft. Importantly, the enhancements are the exclusive factory-designed, engineered and supported upgrades available for the Hawker/Beechjet 400.

“The 400XPR factory-completed aircraft is superior to offerings of other OEMs and startup modification centers like Nextant,” Tannahill added. “The more powerful Williams International FJ44-4A engines enable the Hawker 400XPR to climb directly to FL450 in only 19 minutes at max takeoff weight, whereas the Nextant modification (which uses the smaller -3A engine) requires some 70 minutes at lower altitudes before it can step climb to realize the greater efficiencies without sacrificing speed.

“The Hawker 400XPR beats the competition in range, too. Consider, on a hot day, the Nextant upgrade cannot fly non-stop from Bogota, Colombia, to Manaus, Brazil with four passengers. The Hawker 400XPR easily reaches Manaus to the southeast and even Cancun, Mexico, to the northwest with the same passenger load.”

Hawker Beechcraft GCS has aligned its entire network of more than 100 factory owned and authorized services centers around the globe to support Hawker 400XPR operators and help them simplify their aircraft ownership, reduce operating cost and increase resale value.

Headquartered in Wichita, Kan., GCS is comprised of five functional groups that include Support Plus (cost predictability/warranty programs), Hawker Beechcraft Parts & Distribution (genuine factory parts), Hawker Beechcraft Services (factory-owned service centers), Technical Support (Field Support Representatives, Hot Line specialists and Technical Publications) and Global Mission Support (government business and special mission maintenance / training support).